Mobile communication devices, such as personal digital assistants PDAs) and smart phones, are advanced devices that offer much more functionality than the telephony features provided by their predecessors. Currently, these advanced mobile devices provide the ability to run complex applications based on a particular platform. There has been an increasing growth in demand for these devices due to their advanced computer processing capabilities and affordability.
As these devices are lightweight and portable, many users engage in communications while operating a vehicle. In addition to voice calls, popular forms of communications include instant messaging and text messaging. Instant and text messaging enable the user of the mobile communication device to compose a message in a text form via buttons on a keypad of the device that correspond to alphanumeric characters. Depending on the length of the message, composing a text-based communication requires near-constant visualization of the keypad by the user for a period of time sufficient to allow access of the messaging application on the device, identification or entry of an address to which the message will be sent, composition of the communication content, and selection of an option that directs the device to transmit the message. Thus, due to the requirement that the user visually focus on the device for a period of time, text and instant messaging are not conducive to situations that require extended visual and mental focus, such as operating a vehicle.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide ways to enable in-vehicle messaging that minimizes the distractions typically associated with mobile communications devices.